


Riddle and the Strawberry

by SereneSorrow



Category: Bleach
Genre: First Meetings, Human Hirako Shinji, M/M, Pre-Relationship, Role Reversal, Shinichi weekend 2020
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-28
Updated: 2020-03-28
Packaged: 2021-02-28 17:46:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,614
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23361166
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SereneSorrow/pseuds/SereneSorrow
Summary: There's a new kid beginning school today.There are a lot of new beginnings today.
Relationships: Hirako Shinji & Kurosaki Ichigo
Comments: 1
Kudos: 52
Collections: ShinIchi Weekend 2020





	Riddle and the Strawberry

**Author's Note:**

> ShinIchi Weekend 2020 – Day 3: Different first meeting
> 
> Rewrite of Bleach chapter 1 and whatever chapter Shinji's first day of school was. I don't own Bleach. Aww... and I don't actually remember how much dialogue is exact or close... probably most of it... ~eh

The newcomer who stepped into the classroom at Ochi-sensei's announcement was eye-catching. A brilliant orange mop of hair and a scowl that dimmed even Inoue-chan's enthusiasm to greet and gossip about the character. He wrote his name on the blackboard and made a point of explaining that 'Ichigo' meant 'first protector', and not 'strawberry'. No one bothered to laugh at that, the scowl was actually kind of threatening, and seated somewhere behind him Keigo had already wilted in terror while Mizuiro just slid an observing gaze over the redhead and went back to whatever he was doing on his phone, apparently unimpressed.

“You can take a seat over there, beside Hirako-san.” Ochi-sensei directed, and the redhead just nodded before striding down the aisle.

“Nice to meet you, Kurosaki-san.” Shinji said with a grin, the one that he had practiced for long hours in the mirror. The fake one that kept his bleeding soul hidden from the world.

The new student just frowned at him for a moment and then nodded back in response when Ochi-sensei started introducing the day's lesson. That was pretty much it, and for the rest of class the new kid ignored his occasional glances to the side, focusing on Ochi-sensei's lectures.

After classes were over the new kid disappeared before anyone could ask what his plans were, and Inoue-chan pouted, she'd wanted to ask him which clubs he might join. Shinji ignored the gossip of his classmates and tentative friends and made his own way out of the school, lost in thought. It was as he was deciding which of his homework to tackle first that his thoughts were interrupted.

“Get him! You've got this Lil' Mitch!”

The yell startled Shinji as he was walking his usual route back to his 'home', the place he'd been placed in for just over a year now. It wasn't the best, but it wasn't the worst either, and he was just glad that he didn't have any deeper complaints with it than that.

He recognized the voice that had spoken, and the name, those annoying punks that were always skateboarding around here when he was on his way home. Ignoring them was impossible, since they were always ready for a fight, and apparently thought he was a good target just because he had blonde hair. It wasn't his fault that he couldn't remember anything about his outsider parent, or his childhood, he just knew that he wasn't going to dye his hair just to shut up a bunch of thugs. Whatever accident had taken his parents lives was completely gone from his memory, as was most of his younger years, the only thing he could remember when he tried was a nightmare about a monster with huge white teeth.

Shinji shook off his wandering thoughts and with a sigh he prepared himself for one of the punks to come running at him the second he turned the corner and was instead surprised to see the entire 'little gang' eating pavement, Kurosaki Ichigo standing over them.

“Question one! What is this?” Kurosaki said, thumb pointing over his shoulder.

Shinji blinked, then noticed the broken vase of flowers on it's side.

“Uh, some offering for a dead kid?” Lil' Toshi said.

“Got it in one! Guess we know who the brains of this outfit is!” With a kick to the speaker's face that made Shinji wince at the flexibility required to pull it off Kurosaki continued while the punks gaped at their fallen comrade. “Question two! Why is that vase broken?”

“Cuz- uh, we mighta' knocked it over when we was skateboarding?” Lil' Yama tried, wincing when Kurosaki yelled 'correct'.

“Now apologize!” With a menacing crack of his knuckles Kurosaki glared at the gang.

“Huh?” The gang chorused.

“Apologize to her!” Kurosaki said, pointing to his side.

The gang, and Shinji as well, flinched and then stared as a little girl with pigtails appeared, half of her face drenched in a sheet of blood. She was transparent, and floating a few inches above the ground.

The gang screamed like little girls and stammered out apologies as they ran for the hills, leaving their skateboards behind in their panic.

“Hey, sorry about that.”

For a second Shinji thought that Kurosaki was speaking to him, even though he hadn't thought he'd been noticed, but actually he was talking to the girl.

“That's okay, I'm glad you got rid of them. How'd you make them see me anyway? They never did before.” She said, and Shinji could barely hear her voice, it seemed faint for some reason.

“A strong enough targeted blast of Spiritual Pressure can awaken a living person's Spiritual Awareness. It might not be permanent for them, but some people just seem to wake up around me.” Kurosaki explained to her.

“Are you serious?” Shinji couldn't help cutting in.

 _'Spiritual Pressure? Awareness? What is he talking about, is that girl really a ghost?'_ Shinji's mind was racing with thoughts, and he didn't even know where to start.

Kurosaki turned to him in surprise, so he really hadn't noticed Shinji before.

“What was your name again?” He asked, and Shinji gave it.

“Sorry you had to catch the show, you'll probably lose your spiritual awareness in a few days if you stay away from me.” He explained, but Shinji just had to know more.

So, ghosts were real. He wanted to know what these Spiritual things were.

“Or I could stick with you and you could tell me what's really going on.” Shinji said with his fake grin again, sidling up to the other boy and his ghost friend.

Kurosaki blinked in surprise but Shinji thought that the scowl lightened a bit as Kurosaki lead the way farther down the street, explaining about the energy that souls were made of. Shinji followed it fairly well, only asking a few questions, because Kurosaki explained it fairly simply. He noticed that the ghost girl looked to be hearing the information for the first time too, and wondered why a ghost wouldn't know any of this. When he asked as much Ichigo seemed a bit flustered.

“Well, it's not common knowledge here in the Living World.” He said.

“What other world is there?” Shinji asked and shared a confused glance with the ghost girl.

“The afterlife? Obviously. My dad can send you there tonight, his patrol was just reassigned to this area.” The redhead told the girl.

“Is that good? Do I want to go there?” She asked.

“Well, I've never been, since I'm not dead. Dad doesn't like to talk about it much either because he says it's a really old fashioned place where the nobility is still in charge and everyone else just gets by, but if you stay here then you could be eaten by a Hollow so it's safer for you if you do go.” Ichigo patted her shoulder just like she wasn't a ghost at all.

“Eaten?”

“Really mean ghosts with white masks, they eat other ghosts to increase their Spirit Energy.”

He might have continued speaking, Shinji didn't know because he had stopped, frozen by Kurosaki's words. All of a sudden he could remember, his nightmare flashing before his eyes as a huge white face with glowing eyes and blocky teeth snapped it's mouth shut on a man with hair the same color as his own. There was blood everywhere, and Shinji knew that he was screaming. There was nothing else he could do, he was just a little kid, too small to do anything while the monster ate his parents and then turned. It was looking at him, it was coming for him, it was-

“Shinji!”

Suddenly Shinji realized that he was on his knees, his ears ringing. He looked up, at Kurosaki leaning over him and the girl floating by his shoulder. Kurosaki must have been calling him for a while, he looked worried.

“I remembered.” Shinji's eyes were wide and he was ashamed to realize that he was crying.

“Remembered what?” Kurosaki asked patiently, helping him when Shinji tried to stand up.

“Heh” he tried to laugh, tried to brush it off. “Guess you haven't been around long enough to hear that I have amnesia. Can't remember anything from before a couple weeks after my parents died.”

“Damn.” Kurosaki whispered.

“Well, I thought it was just a nightmare, but I guess that monster was a Hollow? Big white mask, hole in it's guts?” Shinji confessed after Kurosaki pushed him over to lean against a nearby wall.

“Sounds like it.” Kurosaki said grimly.

Shinji just breathed for a minute, he felt like he might hyperventilate if he didn't focus. Rubbing a hand over his suddenly tired eyes he looked back at the new student. The redhead looked worried, well, maybe just concerned. It was weird, he was still scowling but Shinji almost thought it looked like he cared.

“It ate my parents.” He said, looking straight into Kurosaki's eyes.

Kurosaki let out a slow breath, not looking away and took both of his shoulders in a tight grip.

“Yeah, they do that.” Was all he said, and then pulled Shinji into him.

It was weird, and Shinji needed a minute to realize that it was a hug, he hadn't had many of those in what he remembered of his life. He didn't really like contact, at least he'd never been close to anyone in the homes he been placed in, but then he kind of melted into it and soaked in the feeling. Kurosaki was really warm, and something about him just struck Shinji as trustworthy, so instead of pushing him away Shinji just stayed right were he was for a while.


End file.
